


World Will Go On Spinning

by Iki_teru



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Gen, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, let the girls be friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24836071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iki_teru/pseuds/Iki_teru
Summary: spoilers for KH 3, also AU for the end of KH 3. Kairi wakes from a recurring nightmare weeks after the defeat of Xehanort in Land of Departure and finds comfort with two familiar strangers: Naminé and Xion.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	World Will Go On Spinning

**Author's Note:**

> I just want everyone to be friends and communicate with each other, okay? 
> 
> As always: self edited. Con-crit welcome.

Kairi wakes with the acid taste of a nightmare fresh on her tongue. The walls of this room are too high and bare, nothing like her cramped little room on the islands with too many photos tacked to the walls. The air is too still, no taste of sea salt on her tongue as she gasps awake. This bedroom is still too new, too unfamiliar to offer any solace. She doesn’t hesitate to flip the blanket off and darts for the door. 

The halls of Departure are quiet at this early hour. Kairi stands outside her door — hand over her heart — counting the beats beneath her palm. Where to go? She knows she’s always welcome with her boys, but they’ve been having just as many problems getting a good night’s sleep as she has and finds herself hesitant to wake either of them. Especially when there’s nothing they can do but stay up with her; thus leaving the lot of them sleep-deprived for training after the sun is up. 

The urge to darken Axel’s door is there. Something tells her he might already have his hands full with a nightmare plagued Roxas. 

They’re broken, the whole lot of them. 

Kairi makes her way to the kitchens, watched by the sleepy moonlit eyes of large stained-glass windows. It’s easier breathing out here; focusing on her steps and the slight texture of the stone wall beneath her hand instead of the stutter of her heart. She remembers her way well enough, given it’s only been a handful of days since they all arrived here. 

A handful of days since the end of everything. Since the dust settled and someone said, _you should be properly trained, now that we can spare the time_. A handful of days since they swung by Destiny Islands long enough to pack up things they couldn’t live without, to say goodbye, to fail to make loved ones understand why they were going away forever this time.

She pushes the door open, shielding her eyes at the unexpected light. The whole kitchen is lit up and warm. Kairi can make out a person already seated at the little table tucked in the corner. Despite the distance between here and private rooms, the people who were awake before her whisper _good morning_ like they’re at risk of waking someone else.

“Couldn’t sleep?” asks Kairi, blinking into the light, adjusting to the brightness after the dreamlike hallway. Someone is bent over the open door of the fridge, but the girl situated at the small table is like looking onto a mirror...

Naminé smiles, shaking her head. “Everything is still too,” she paused to flex her fingers around the mug in front of her, “new.” 

Dragging a chair to sit next to the other girl, Kairi hums a note of understanding. She looks down at her own hands; knuckles still bruised and cracked from the last fight. Donald healed the worst damage, but there had been so many hurts that needed tending — and besides she liked the ache in her bones. It reminded her that everything happened. Everything was over with. It was done, and they had all come out on the other side. 

There is a moment of companionable silence between these two girls who were once one heart. It had been a hectic couple of days; moving and settling in and saying goodbye if they had goodbyes to say and crying. Kairi can’t remember the last time she felt this at peace. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Naminé asks her mug of tea, keeping her eyes carefully forward and down. 

“About what?” 

“The nightmares.” Naminé taps her chest with a finger. “I can still sense you a little. Sorry.” 

“No, don’t be it’s…” nice is what Kairi thinks but figured that would be weird to say. To try and explain that it was comforting to be connected to a person no matter what. “It’s okay.” 

A mug of hot tea is placed in front of Kairi, distracting from the conversation, followed by a small jar of honey. “There’s no more milk, I bet the boys drank it all and forgot to put it on the list.” Xion huffs an apology, sitting down on the other side of the small table. She slurps at her own drink, only pausing when the silence stretches on and looks up at Kairi with an unnervingly familiar face. If Naminé is like looking in a mirror, then Xion is looking through a window in a bright room at night. “Did you not want honey?” 

“No, I do, thank you. It’s just…” it’s just she barely knows this girl, and yet Xion seems to know her so well, but this is more things she doesn’t know how to word. The silence stretches until it snaps into hurt and in a quiet voice Xion says; “This is awkward isn’t it? I’m sorry, I’ll just go.” she moves to stand, and Kairi leans across the table to take her by the wrist before she really thinks it through. The other girl’s skin is warm beneath her palm, pulse a fluttering bird under Kairi’s fingertips. 

Kairi says, “wait,” and “stay, please.” Xion doesn’t look convinced that this is what Kairi wants so she finds it in herself to smile; finds an honest spark in the expression. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” 

Xion’s face lights up in a way that makes Kairi realize, _oh that’s only ever been Xion’s face._ Xion sits back down, a private smile hiding behind a cup of tea that she seems to enjoy smelling more than drinking. 

Silence descends. It’s not entirely uncomfortable, here with these girls who once weren’t. Kairi feels some of the tension slip out of her shoulders as she sips the hot tea — it’s minty, and a little herbal and immediately sets her heart at ease. 

“This place used to be Castle Oblivion,” Naminé says after the first cups are drunk and Xion is busy setting up a second pot. “It doesn’t look the same anymore, but the walls remember.” Her eyes flicker to the ceiling, mouth twisting up at the corners like flower petals unfolding. “Sometimes I forget which halls I’m standing in; which roof I’m sleeping under. It’s not so bad during the day but at night…” she sighs, head still leaned back, and closes her eyes. “At night, everything looks too white. I can’t sleep.” Kairi catches the words unspoken: _it’s been like this since I came back to these walls._

Kairi picks at a splinter on the edge of the table. “We can paint your room, it might help.” 

Naminé blinks, bringing her head slowly back down to eye level. Her spill of blonde hair lay behind her now instead of pouring over a shoulder. She looks younger, somehow. “I hadn’t thought about that. Do you think we can?” 

Kairi shrugs. “Aqua keeps telling us that this is our home now too. I’m sure it’s fine, but we can check with her in the morning.”

Naminé squeezes Kairi’s hand under the table, quick and soft like she’s not sure it’s allowed. Her hands are too hot from the mug she’d been cradling, but they make Kairi realize how cold she is when they’ve returned to Naminé’s side. 

“Sometimes,” Xion begins with her back towards the other girls as she waits for the kettle to whistle, “I wake up in the middle of the night like this and worry I’m still a forgotten thing. Sometimes I find myself at Roxas or Axel’s door, always a second from knocking to see if they remember me.” She laughs a little, a bitter sound swallowed up by the shriek of the kettle. “But I’m always too afraid of what will happen if they don’t.” She pours the hot water over fresh tea leaves and silence falls once more while they wait for the tea to steep. Kairi hears the things Xion doesn’t say: _I’ll be a bother if I keep needing them to comfort me._

“I didn’t know you before to forget you. I know you now, so that must mean you’re remembered,” Kairi says. 

It’s a twisted sort of logic that only makes sense after midnight. Xion lets out a shaky laugh. “I suppose you’re right.” 

Neither girl makes demands of Kairi to share, and she knows they offered their stories in solidarity, not as a challenge. She accepts her fresh cup with a quiet thank you, breathes in deeply the calming steam from her cup, and begins talking. She can’t look at the other two, just as they couldn’t look at anyone else either, and even in this, she knows it’s okay to be a little afraid.

“I keep having this nightmare over and over, about the end of things. It’s always about the end of things. But in the nightmares, things go different. Go _wrong_ . I freeze up and don’t help when I should, and Xehanort kidnaps me and uses me to hurt Sora and,” her breath catches, her heart hurts, “and I die. And Sora is stupid and reckless and goes after me, and then _he_ dies, and I’m supposed to be okay with that.” She wonders if they hear what she’s bitten her tongue on: _I want to not feel helpless for one moment of my life._

The other girls nod. “That does sound like a Sora thing to do.” 

“But you know it didn’t, right? That it’s just a dream?” 

_Sora, hand in hand with her on the paopu tree as they watch the sunset. Leaning over, whispering into her ear, brushing her hair aside with that heartbreaking smile._ “I know,” Kairi says, although her heart feels like maybe it didn’t. She has the sudden urge to run to his room, shake him awake, make sure that he was here. _That’s silly, you saw him at dinner. He’s fine_. 

“I felt kind of silly at first, being afraid of not being. But I think we’re all a little haunted by our experiences.” Xion smiles, reaching across the table to clasp hands with Kairi. Her palms are too hot now too, but there’s comfort in the heat of them. “What if’s can scare you to death if you let them. But we’re here for you whenever you need someone to listen to your fears.” 

Naminé leans forward to add her hand on top of Xion’s. They’re both smiling, and it’s not like looking in a mirror anymore at all, these girls have never been anyone but themselves, how silly of her to not have seen it before. “She’s right. Let’s make a promise: anytime one of us is hurting, we can seek each other out without worrying about being a burden.” 

Kairi laughs, a wet sound as her eyes fill with tears. These girls, these near-strangers who once looked like her, seem to know her heart almost better than she does. “It’s a deal then.” 

After the second pot, it’s decided that’s probably enough, given the hour, and the conversation drifts to lighter things. They discuss acquiring wardrobes, now that they’re in this place meant for learning and practice.

“Do you want to be a keyblade master?” Xion asks Kairi. 

“Maybe. I don’t know if I can yet. I still haven’t passed on my princess of heart powers. There’s a lot we don’t know about how that will affect things. What about you?” 

“Yes,” the answer is given almost before the question is asked. “I know it sounds silly, given what I started out as, but the keyblade in my hand is the only thing that’s ever felt right. Aqua’s given me the chance to chase that dream, I can’t let that go.” She flexes her fingers, a strange shadow falling across her eyes. “I won’t be called a sham again.” The words don’t make sense, seem to be more for herself than anything. 

“What about you, Naminé?” 

Naminé chews her lip and runs a finger across the table in a design the other two can’t see. “I'm not sure. Aqua’s been very kind and told me the decision is mine, and there’s always room for me here, but Donald said I would make a good Magician.” 

“You know those aren’t your only options.” 

“I know, and I know there’s no rush, but it does need to be thought about,” hums careful, precise Naminé. 

“Do you still draw?” 

“No, not since I…” Naminé gestures down at herself. “Not since I came back. I don’t have those powers anymore, and it feels… it feels like stepping into a river you visited once before. The bank has shifted, and the current has changed, and it doesn’t feel right in the way it did the last time you were there.” 

Someone’s stomach growls. Nobody wants to take credit for the noise, but all three girls burst into laughter at the interruption. “Alright,” says Kairi, “all this talking is going to require sustenance. Is it a very late dinner, a midnight snack, or a very early breakfast we’re about to have?” 

“Snack,” Naminé says just as Xion chimes in “breakfast,” and the two break into fresh peals of laughter. 

They can’t decide what they want so all three start pulling things out of the cabinets. Xion starts in on bacon in a frying pan, yelping in surprise when hot grease pops her; and Naminé leans over her shoulder, giving her instructions on how to balance the temperature. 

_Have they ever cooked before_ , Kairi wonders to herself before deciding it doesn’t matter, they’re all making this up as they go along anyway. 

Eventually, a shirtless, sleepy Rikuk stumbles in, taking in the tableau of girls around the table and stops, mid-scalp scratch. “Ah.. am I... interrupting?” 

“No,” says Kairi, standing and popping her neck. “You’re helping with pancakes.” 

He doesn’t question it, just moves to get the bowls out while Kairi gathers batter ingredients. She cracks eggs and whisks batter until the nightmare that woke her is a distant, fleeting hiccup. 

“That smells wonderful,” says Aqua from the doorway. There’s soft morning light streaming through the windows to fall at her feet. Kairi stares down with some guilt at the small mountain of food they’ve created. 

“I just kind of helped myself, hope that’s alright.” 

“Kairi,” Aqua says with affection. “This is your home now as much as it’s mine. It’s more than alright.” She steals a strawberry, munching thoughtfully as she takes in the spread forming on the countertop. “How does everyone like their eggs?” 

The others begin to wake slowly, drawn to the kitchen by the promising smells of breakfast and the giddy laughter of friends relearning each other. 


End file.
